Lesson Plan

A House For Hermit Crab

Story Summary
Hermit Crab is nervous because of a big change
going on in his life: he has outgrown his shell and
must find a new one. Bravely stepping out on a new
journey, Hermit Crab soon learns that big changes
can bring big new experiences and even new friends.

A House for Hermit Crab is written and illustrated by

Eric Carle, the celebrated creator of The Very Hungry
Caterpillar and many other children’s books.

Book Information
Lesson Focus
Run Time 9:07 Changes: Everybody goes through
Author & Eric Carle
changes in their lives. Share with
Illustrator children your own experiences with
Narrator Will Damron changes and the feelings that go along
with changes.
Publisher Scholastic/Weston Woods

Ages Pre-K to 5
Activity Ideas
Genre Fiction
Hermit Crab’s House
Text Structure The story is set up progressively according Ask the children to draw and color a picture of Hermit
to the growth of the hermit crab and the Crab’s House.
calendar by month. Story is told by a
narrator with dialogue. Use Your Nose Like a Hermit Crab
Themes & Ideas Growth, change, science, nature, seasons, Hermit crabs find food by smell through their
friendship, making decisions
antennae. Place cotton balls with a drop of various
Language & puns, jokes, and facts. non-fiction told in
safe extracts/oils in paper cups and ask the children
Literary Features a fictional story
Sentence Simple, compound, and complex
to identify.
Complexity
Additional activities can be found in the following
Vocabulary flocks, debris, rearranged, outgrown,
pages of this document.
attack, decorate, dim, fierce, gently,
gloomy, grateful, murky, plain, safe, tidy,
snug
Special Changes
Vocabulary
Illustrations Drawings

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 Book Chat
NAME
A House For Hermit Crab

Hermit Crab is nervous because of a big change going on in his life: he Discuss the story and write your
has outgrown his shell and must find a new one. Bravely stepping out on a answers together.
new journey, Hermit Crab soon learns that big changes can bring big new
experiences and even new friends.

1. What is A House for Hermit Crab about?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

How did Hermit Crab feel when he stepped onto the ocean
floor the first time? How did he feel the second time?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Who/what helped Hermit Crab overcome his fear?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Share a time in your life when you transitioned (moved to a

new house, moved to a town, moved to a different grade, had a
substitute teacher) and how you felt.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Who/what helped you with this change? How?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

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 Vooks Pause & Ponder
A House For Hermit Crab Pause at the indicated time
stamps and discuss the story

Why does Hermit feel too big for his house?

0:30 Have you ever felt too big for something?

Where is a place that feels just right for you?

1:17 What makes it feel just right?

Who helps clean where you live?

3:25 How can you be helpful with the cleaning?

4:08 What are ways you can protect where you live?

How do you think Hermit Crab feels about giving his shell to another hermit crab?
6:57 What is something you cared about that you gave to someone?
How did you feel when you gave it away?

7:40 What is something you are looking forward to?

After viewing the Book:

1. Who decorates your life? How? 4. Which sea creature do you think was most
useful to Hermit Crab? Why?
2. What characteristics are important in a friend?
Do you have those characteristics? 5. As a family, make a monthly calendar with one
kind thing you can do for someone each month.
3. Describe a big change that you have had in
your life. What do you think the next big
change will be? How do you think you might
handle that change?

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 Hermit Crab Coloring Sheet NAME

Color Hermit Crab and decorate his shell

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 Changes NAME

Hermit Crab dealt with changes as he grew out of his shell and had
to move into a new one. Have you ever dealt with a new change?
Maybe you moved to a new house, started going to a new school,
or made a new friend? Draw a picture of one change that you have
gone through and write about it below.

The change that I went through was ______________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________ .

Going through the change made me feel ________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________ .

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 Drawing Page NAME

Draw and color the sea creatures Hermit Crab met

SEA ANEMONE SEA URCHIN

STARFISH SEAWEED

SNAIL LANTERNFISH

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 Create Your Own Hermit Crab

PAINT

Red paint White paper

Materials needed
• Red paint (children will be making hand
prints, choose the type of paint accordingly)
• White paper (one sheet for each child)
• Red chenille stem (one for each child)
Crayons, colored pencils, or • Google eyes (two for each child)
anything else that could be • White circle (cut from a paper plate;
used for shell decoration
one for each child)
• Scissors
• Crayons, colored pencils, or anything else
that could be used for shell decoration
• Glue

Directions
Googly eyes
1. Paint one of the child’s hands with red paint and
Red chenille stem have them make a handprint on the white sheet
of paper. Once the paint is dry, cut the hand print
out of the paper.

GLUE 2. Cut around the inside of a paper plate and ask

the child to decorate Hermit’s shell.

3. (Optional) At this point you can add seeds, color

Glue Paper plates or decorations as desired.

4. Glue the shell to the handprint.

5. Bend the chenille stem for the antenna and

glue (or tape).

Scissors 6. Glue on googly eyes.

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